The Synagogues of New York's Lower East Side: A Retrospective and Contemporary View, 2nd Edition

E. Sons of Israel Kalwarie (“The Pike Street Shul”)

e. sons of israel kalwarie (Also known as “The Pike Street Shul”) (Repurposed and Sold to Another Religious Institution) 13–15 Pike Street (between East Broadway and Henry Street) the name “Pike Street Shul” is still heard today, despite the building’s abandonment and latersale. The formersynagogueremains ,nonetheless,animposingedificeandapowerful reminderof the Jewish presence and past influence on theLowerEastSide.Theoriginalcongregationwasfounded by Russian and Polish Jews who had also broken away from the earlier Congregation Beth Hamedrash in 1853, calling theirnew shul Beth Hamedrash Livne Yisroel Yelide Polen (House of Study of the Children of Israel Born in Poland). Aftera latermergerwith anotherchevra from the town of Kalwarie, located on the border of Poland and Lithuania, the name was officially changed to Sons of Israel Kalwarie. The new congregation had occupied a small ground-floor shtiebl on the site until 1903, when the present building was erected. From 1901 to 1903, students from the famed Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Seminary attended classes in the women’s gallery. In 1915, aftera mergerwith Yeshivat Etz Chaim, the Seminary remained on the LowerEast Side until 1928, when it moved uptown and became the renowned Yeshiva University. Designed by the architect Alfred E. Badt, this limestone buildingboastsoftwin,lateralstaircasesleadingtothemain entrance portico. These staircases and the double stairtowers projecting from the main façade create an imposing presenceonthecrowdedstreet.Thebasicformandmassing of the building is derived from the Romanesque Revival and the German Rundbogenstil. At the same time, the architect 119 18317-Wolfe_Synagogues 9/24/12 12:05 PM Page 119 includeddetailsthatrelatetothegeneralNeo-Classicaltendencies in American architecture at the turn of the century. Initsheyday,theKalwarierShulwasoneofthewealthiest congregations on the LowerEast Side, catering to a somewhat upscale clientele. At the turn of the twentieth century, its Hebrew School drew many young people who would laterbecome noted celebrities, including Izzy Kanter(Eddie Cantor) who celebrated his BarMitzvah here. In 1913, a lecture by the noted Rabbi Judah L. Magnes drew thousands of youths to the vast sanctuary—an event that marked the founding of the Young Israel Movement, which was ultimately housed on nearby East Broadway. So large was the overflow crowd, that in attempting to force their way into the shul, the young men bent and flattened the building’s iron fence to the ground. (Formore details, see Young Israel, section C under “The ‘Lost’ or Endangered Synagogues.”) The KalwarierShul also had the reputation as the select location for the funerals of famous Lower East Side residents . In 1962 it witnessed the rites for the noted Rabbi Aharon Kotler, who at the outbreak of World WarII moved from Slutzk and Kletzk to Vilna, a major refuge area for yeshivasforoccupiedareas.HethenescapedtoSiberia,along with his Yeshiva and a small number of its students and teachers. In 1941, he was brought to America by the Vaad Hatzalah rescue organization that he then guided. Rabbi Kotler is also noted for having founded the Bais Medrash Gevoha in 1943—one of the most important Yeshivas in the world—located in Lakewood, New Jersey. By the 1970s, after a number of years of suffering from the effects of neglect, declining membership, and frequent attacks of vandalism, a group of remaining board members decided to sell the property to a developer. However they ran into strong and prolonged opposition from a handful of members who opposed the sale. The conflict was ultimately resolved in the courts in 1994, when those members who had strongly opposed the sale brought an action against the members in favor of it. The court ruled on behalf of the 120 the “lost” or endangered synagogues Israel Ginsberg 18317-Wolfe_Synagogues 9/24/12 12:05 PM Page 120 defendants, permitting the sale to go forward, establishing the legal right of a majority of a synagogue’s membership to sell the property but also decided that the criteria for membership could include a person’s active participation in a synagogue. It also dictated that a portion of the sale go to other Lower East Side synagogues. The developer then remodeled the building. Three years later, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the building as a New York City landmark. In deference to the synagogue members , the developerpermitted the congregation to worship in the building until the early 1980s. The Kalwarier Shul’s attractive limestone building now housestheSungTakBuddhistTempleonthemainfloor(the formersanctuary), a teeming market and commercial space on the ground floor, and residential housing on the upper floors. Gone, however, are the stained glass...